Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 72,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,797 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Akero Therapeutics were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,321,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,238,000 after purchasing an additional 513,613 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,704,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,057,000 after purchasing an additional 27,830 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,452,000 after purchasing an additional 800,216 shares during the period. Rock Springs Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Akero Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rock Springs Capital Management LP now owns 946,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,332,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Akero Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,059,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Akero Therapeutics in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Akero Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $56.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Akero Therapeutics from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.33.

Insider Transactions at Akero Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.77, for a total value of $1,253,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 656,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,403,709.74. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Catriona Yale sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.30, for a total value of $393,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 95,034 shares in the company, valued at $3,734,836.20. This trade represents a 9.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 219,208 shares of company stock valued at $9,113,294 in the last ninety days. 7.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AKRO opened at $47.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 17.25, a current ratio of 17.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.99. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.86 and a 52 week high of $58.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.69 and a beta of -0.12.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.01) by $1.91. Equities research analysts anticipate that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Akero Therapeutics

Akero Therapeutics, Inc, together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials that protects against cellular stress and regulates the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients.